Injured Ramos Not Included in Spain’s List for Euro 2020

Sergio Ramos. (Getty Images)
Sergio Ramos. (Getty Images)
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Injured Ramos Not Included in Spain’s List for Euro 2020

Sergio Ramos. (Getty Images)
Sergio Ramos. (Getty Images)

Sergio Ramos was left off Spain’s squad for the European Championship on Monday following a season plagued by injuries, a decision that means no Real Madrid players were called up by the national team for a major tournament for the first time.

Spain coach Luis Enrique said Ramos’ lack of play recently made it difficult for the defender to be included in the Euro 2020 squad.

The 35-year-old Ramos missed most of the second half of the season after a series of muscle injures and a knee problem that required surgery. He also tested positive for COVID-19 in April.

“He will not be with us because he couldn’t compete during large parts of the season, he couldn’t even practice with his club,” Luis Enrique said. “It was tough. It was a complicated decision but it had to be made to benefit of the entire group. I felt bad because he has always been a player who gave everything he had, he has always been very professional.”

Ramos would have been a Madrid player on the list, and Luis Enrique said Dani Carvajal also would have made the squad if he was fit. The Spanish powerhouse finished the season without a title for the first time in more than a decade. It was runner-up to Atlético Madrid in the Spanish league and was eliminated by Chelsea in semifinals of the Champions League.

“I don’t take that into consideration,” Luis Enrique said, referring to the players’ clubs. “If Carvajal and Ramos were fit they would be in the squad.”

Other Madrid players who had been called up recently but were left off the list included Nacho Fernández and Marco Asensio.

Luis Enrique said he told Ramos about his decision in a phone call on Sunday.

“I normally don’t make these calls but I decided to do it in Ramos’ case because of what he means to the national team," Luis Enrique said, adding that he told the player to be “more selfish” and make sure he fully recovers so he can come back to help his club and eventually return to the national team.

Ramos would have had a chance to break the record for most appearances for a national team at Euro 2020. The veteran Spain captain already holds the European record with 180 appearances. The world record of 184 is held by Egypt player Ahmed Hassan.

“It pains me not to have been able to help my team more and not to play for Spain but, in this case, the best thing to do is rest, fully recover and come back next year like we’ve always done,” Ramos said on Twitter. "It hurts not to represent your country, but I have to be honest and sincere.

“I wish all my teammates the very best of luck and I hope we have a great Euros,” he said. “I’ll be another fan cheering on from home.”

Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte, who played for France’s youth squads but was also eligible to play for Spain, was among those included in Luis Enrique’s squad.

“His call-up has nothing to do with Ramos not being able to play,” Luis Enrique said about Laporte. “We considered him since it became possible for him to be with us. He is a top player who can help us, with a lot of international experience with his club.”

Also in the squad are forwards Adama Traoré and Álvaro Morata, youngsters Ferran Torres, Pedri González and Eric García, and veterans Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and César Azpilicueta.

Among those missing out were Jesús Navas, Sergio Canales, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Iago Aspas and Inigo Martínez, who announced on Monday he didn’t feel ready to be with the national team for Euro 2020.

Luis Enrique said he didn’t pick a full complement of 26 players because he felt the 24 that he included would meet all of the team’s needs. He said he didn’t want to have too many players who would not expect to play.

Spain will play in Group E along with Sweden, Poland and Slovakia. All of its games will be in the Spanish city of Seville, beginning on June 14 against Sweden. Its two warm-up matches will be against Portugal on June 4 and against Lithuania on June 8.

“We are in a group of favorites that includes six or seven national teams that no one can count out,” Luis Enrique said. “We are not inferior to anyone and we are not superior to anyone.”

The Spanish players will report to training on May 31.



'World's Oldest Marathon Runner' Dies Aged 114 in Road Accident

 (FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
(FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
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'World's Oldest Marathon Runner' Dies Aged 114 in Road Accident

 (FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
(FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)

India's Fauja Singh, believed to be the world's oldest distance runner, has died in a road accident aged 114, his biographer said Tuesday.

Singh, an Indian-born British national, nicknamed the "Turbaned Tornado", died after being hit by a vehicle in Punjab state's Jalandhar district on Monday, AFP reported.

"My Turbaned Tornado is no more," Fauja's biographer Khushwant Singh wrote on X.

"He was struck by an unidentified vehicle... in his village, Bias, while crossing the road. Rest in peace, my dear Fauja."

Singh did not have a birth certificate but his family said he was born on April 1, 1911.

He ran full marathons (42 kilometer) till the age of 100.

His last race was a 10-kilometer (six-mile) event at the 2013 Hong Kong Marathon when 101, where he finished in one hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds.

He became an international sensation after taking up distance running at the ripe old age of 89, after the death of his wife and one of his sons, inspired by seeing marathons on television.

Although widely regarded as the world's oldest marathon runner, he was not certified by Guinness World Records as he could not prove his age, saying that birth certificates did not exist when he was born under British colonial rule in 2011.

Singh was a torchbearer for the Olympics at Athens 2004 and London 2012, and appeared in advertisements with sports stars such as David Beckham and Muhammad Ali.

His strength and vitality were credited to a routine of farm walks and a diet including Indian sweet "laddu" packed with dry fruits and home-churned curd.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute on social media.

"Fauja Singh was extraordinary because of his unique persona and the manner in which he inspired the youth of India on a very important topic of fitness," said Modi on X.

"He was an exceptional athlete with incredible determination. Pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and countless admirers around the world."